By Paul Osborne

Fiji is on a search for a Chef de Mission for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow ©Getty ImagesMarch 23 - Fiji has begun a search to find a suitable Chef de Mission to represent the country at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

With just four months to go until the start of the Games, Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) President Reg Sanday has said time is of the essence for Fiji, and they need to appoint a person with past experience in managing Games.

The nation is still awaiting news on their request to allow their netball and rugby sevens teams to qualify for the Games following their reintroduction into the Commonwealth last week.

Due to their late reinstatement, the country's sevens and netball team cannot earn qualification for the Games, leaving Sanday to write a letter to the Commonwealth Games Federation pleading their case to be allowed to compete.

"No word yet from the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, but we in FASANOC have already started talking about appointing an experienced person as Chef de Mission to lead our preparation for Glasgow," said Sanday.

"We have only four months to go to the start of the games so there isn't much time."

Fiji is still awaiting news on whether their netball and rugby sevens teams can compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games ©Getty ImagesFiji is still awaiting news on whether their netball and rugby sevens teams can compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images



Sanday is also asking national sports to start identifying their elite athletes for the games.

"All sports will need to develop their selection criteria and justify their selection based on these criteria to FASANOC.

"We cannot yet determine the exact size of the team as we have yet to receive advice from the organisers on the preparations and travel grants we are eligible for."

Sanday is hoping for a positive response from the Organising Committee soon so that the national sevens and netball sides can participate in the event.

"We expect a decision to be made this weekend on our appeal for our sevens and netball teams to take part as the draws for these sports have already been done," he said.

"As they are team sports, their inclusion will certainly impact on numbers.

"Once we get all this information from Glasgow we will start working on team size.

"My own preference is for a small, well-prepared team that can perform to make us proud in Glasgow."

The 2014 Commonwealth Games will take place from July 23 to August 3 in Glasgow, Scotland.

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